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The City Council is New York’s legislature. It passes laws that affect city policies and services, the most important of which is the annual city budget, which the Council negotiates with the mayor. The Council also wields significant power over decisions on zoning changes and other land-use affairs. And it has the power to investigate the way the mayor and his or her commissioners are performing. All that plus an annual salary of $112,500 (and more if you hold a leadership position or committee chair and receive and accept a “lulu,” or supplemental payment, for that position).
Councilmembers typically serve four-year terms. They’re elected from 51 districts across the city.
Who is eligible to run
According to the state’s Public Officers Law, you must be 18, a U.S. citizen and a state resident to hold officer in New York. You must also be a resident of the district you represent and—this should be easy—you can’t have violated the federal draft laws that were in place for World War I or II.
How do you get on the ballot
According to the New York City Board of Elections, to get your name on the ballot for the city council primary election, you must collect signatures. The official due dates for the next election have not yet been set, but petitions are typically due sometime in mid-July. The city Board of Elections provides a sample cover letter to accompany your signatures. The Board of elections also provides samples of how signatures should be presented for the general and primary elections.
The signatures you collect must come from registered voters living in the district you want to run in. If you want to seek a particular party’s nomination, then these voters must be registered to that party. If you are running as an independent, then any voters in the district can sign, as long as they have not signed for any other candidate.
Whether you want to run in a primary, or appear on the general election ballot as an independent, you’ll need 450 valid signatures. Because opponents can challenge the validity of your signatures, and possibly get some of them discounted, candidates normally collect two to four times as many signatures as needed.
How do you fund your campaign
In addition to getting your name on the ballot, you’ll need to finance your campaign. All candidates are required to register with the Campaign Finance Board. To do this you must first get an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. You do this by filling out the Application for Employer Identification Number (SS-4).
After you’ve obtained your EIN you must fill out several other documents with both the city and state Boards of Elections.If you plan on raising, spending and disclosing money yourself, then you must file the Candidate Campaign Finance Registration Form to Request NYSBOE ID# and PIN (CF-04). If you have an authorized committee to file on your behalf, then you will file The Committee Registration/ Treasurer and Bank Information Form (CF-02), Committee Authorization Status (CF-03) and Candidate’s Authorization for a Committee to Make Campaign Finance Disclosures (CF-16). All documents can be found on the Board of Elections website.
After you’ve filed all the required documents, you will then be registered with the Campaign Finance Board. After that, you will be responsible for filing all of your funding and spending with the Campaign Finance Board.
All candidates must report who gives contributions to their campaigns and how their campaigns spend money. Each contributor can donate no more than $2,750 over the course of the campaign.
Candidates who abide by additional regulations can participate in the city’s matching fund program, in which campaigns are given taxpayer money based on how much they have collected in qualifying contributions.
According to the Campaign Finance Act, to qualify for public funds, City Council candidates are required to raise a minimum of $5,000 from at least 75 contributors living in their district. If a candidate qualifies for public funding, then the city will contribute $6 for every dollar received from a New York City resident, up to a maximum of $1,050 per contributor. City Council candidates participating in the matching funds program can spend up to $168,000 in both the primary election and the general election. (Contribution limits, qualifying thresholds and spending caps are different for other city offices like borough president and mayor. Click here for details.)
All candidates must file regular reports to the Campaign Finance Board during and after the campaign. The CFB audits each campaign after the election cycle ends. Candidates who violate campaign finance rules can face substantial fines and orders to pay back matching funds; candidates and campaign treasurers can be held personally liable for these penalties. So be sure to read the CFB’s handbook and attend a free training session before you start collecting or spending money.
With reporting by Jack Curran
15 thoughts on “How to Run for City Council”
Thank you so much! This was very helpful.
Thank you so much this article was helpful.
I’m disabled…live and love this town.. and you won’t take away from our people…it’s coming !!get ready to feel it
This information was very helpful. I’m truly considering a run. My Grandma was a Council woman.
hey roslyn did u decide to run?
https://www.sheshouldrun.org/
hey guys ,I would love to run for a seat on the city council, I am an independent but also would like to start my own party . Any suggestions or help would be welcome, feel free to reach out to me at deezostrong@yahoo
thanks for your time.
I’m interested to run for city council woman, how would I go about it? please email me more information at Escharff72@gmail.com
Thanks
Evelyn Scharff
https://www.sheshouldrun.org/
Kudos to NYC for making the ballot reasonably accessible to independent candidates.
– S. Silverman
Thank you very much
I’m not into politics but sitting back and looking at all the changes ( some good some bad) being made I would like to make a difference and I figure I need to get involve so. I would like more information on becoming a candidate for city council.
Thank You
I am definitely going to run for City Council here in Henrietta NY…. I think that I will bring forth alot of change..
How many petition signatures are needed to be on ballot for NYC council?
can you tell be where I can obtain the blank signature form for a run for city counsel democratic party can email the sample for printing I do not want to start the wrong form
vdemarco87@gmail.com